Line of Sight
by Czigany
Summary: Мор. Утопия / Pathologic. Slight Artemiy Burakh/Daniil Dankovsky (Burakovsky). A quiet morning and something found on the steppe that could easily have been lost.


Artemiy was out picking twyre in the early morning, enjoying the quiet of the steppe and the mist as it rose around the stones that dotted the landscape. It reminded him of when he used to walk the paths with his father, learning the lines of the land. He crested a small hill, keeping an eye out for the bull-shaped rock that marked the edge of the southern grazing fields and the furthest he would go that morning. Instead, his gaze caught on a new lump crouched in the fog. Thinking it might be one of the children, he approached softly, mouth open to ask what they were doing so far from the town. Only, when the shape resolved itself, he realised it was none other than the huddled form of the bachelor, shivering under his heavy coat.

"Oynon!" Artemiy exclaimed. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Dankovsky didn't answer, shoulders only hunching deeper as he ducked his head between them. Artemiy stepped around to face him, taking in the way dew clung to his hair and clothes. His brow furrowed and he crouched down, trying to see the doctor's face. "Have you been out here all night? You'll catch your death that way."

"Leave me to it then, haruspex," the bachelor mumbled, forcing Artemiy to lean closer to hear him. "It's not as though it matters anyway."

Artemiy frowned a little, reaching out to put his hand on one of Dankovsky's shoulders. "You know that isn't true, oynon… it matters to me, even if it doesn't matter to you. Come," he continued, shifting his hand to grip the doctor's arm and tug at him gently. "Stand up; walk back with me. How long since you've eaten? Or slept?"

Dankovsky stood reluctantly, not bothering to brush the clinging damp and grass from his coat. Artemiy slung an arm over the bachelor's shoulders as they turned back towards the town, both to keep him moving and also to contribute a small amount of warmth to his trembling form. Dankovsky huddled in gratefully, too tired to try to hide it.

"You didn't answer," the haruspex prodded tenderly when they'd been walking a while, soft voice nearly lost in the swirling fog.

Dankovsky gave a shuddering sigh, leaning further into Artemiy's side. "I had some bread and coffee yesterday," he finally muttered, one hand coming to rub tiredly at his forehead, "I think. But I haven't slept since…." he trailed away, grimacing.

Artemiy almost pried further, professional concern perfectly aligned to his personal worries for the man at his side, before he remembered that the bachelor had been staying in the Slough with Eva Yan before she'd lept from the Cathedral roof the day before last. He bit down a number of intrusive questions and worthless platitudes as they reached the outskirts of the town, the Station opening its dark maw before them with the Knots not far behind, forcing a choice.

With a hesitation lasting no longer than half a breath and Artemiy turned their feet eastward. The bachelor didn't appear to notice until they'd crossed into the Earth, the low, rusted buildings of the Factory looming out of the clinging mists. His head came up and he made a confused noise in his throat, prompting Artemiy to draw him closer still.

"I have a place in the Machinery," the haruspex explained softly. "It's close and warm, and I have some food stored there as well."

He didn't mention his wish to keep an eye on the bachelor and that he would try to coax the man to sleep if given half a chance. Dankovsky seemed to sense it anyway, though he did nothing more than shake his head and cough out a small, disbelieving laugh as Artemiy led him through the deserted streets.

The hideout was warm as promised but, even so, the bachelor stayed close. He followed cautiously when Artemiy went to stoke the fire in his small stove and reluctantly accepted a bowl of the stew that the haruspex had been keeping warm on it's top since the night before. Artemiy urged the doctor to sit at the table and eat, pouring them each a glass of water rather than brewing coffee that would do more harm than good at this stage. When Dankovsky had scraped his bowl clean, seemingly surprising himself with how fast he'd eaten, Artemiy led him to the corner he'd claimed as a bedroom.

"Take off your coat and gloves, oynon, and I'll hang them by the stove to dry."

The bachelor did so reluctantly, peeling away the damp leathers as though he was shedding his own skin, leaving himself raw and vulnerable in only his shirtsleeves. When Artemiy turned away to do as he'd said he would, Dankovsky stopped him with a tentative hand at his wrist. The haruspex glanced back only to see the doctor's gaze averted, staring at the bed and not quite able to hide the faint blush that heated his cheeks.

"You'll…." Dankovsky swallowed the rest of his words thickly, flashing Artemiy only a glimpse of deep brown eyes before they darted away again. "Don't leave," he said instead, voice nearly a whisper.

"I'll only be a moment," Artemiy replied after a tense second, when he had gathered his wits from where Dankovsky's soft plea had scattered them. He covered the doctor's chilly fingers with his own and squeezed them gently. "I won't leave you alone."

The bachelor relaxed then, the line of his shoulders easing as he let go of Artemiy's arm and turned fully towards the small bed. The haruspex watched him a heartbeat longer before continuing with his own task. When it was done and he'd checked that the door was locked, Artemiy returned to his makeshift bedroom with a chair and his father's journal, intending to spend the hours that Dankovsky rested researching the panacea as he watched over the man. Rather than sleeping, however, the bachelor was observing him dully from beneath half-closed lids, jaw tight and arms wrapped around himself beneath the blankets, trying to suppress his shivering.

"You're still cold," Artemiy observed.

Instead of the glare he expected for such an obvious statement, Dankovsky simply shut his eyes, shoulders hunching as he curled in on himself once again. The haruspex frowned, watching for only a few more breaths before toeing off his boots and crawling beneath the blankets with him. The bachelor stiffened as the mattress dipped, then relaxed again as Artemiy gathered him close, leaning almost desperately into his warmth. Artemiy ran soothing hands down Dankovsky's back, tangling the doctor's feet between his own.

"You should be continuing your research, not indulging me." Contrary as he was, Dankovsky still managed to mumble a half-hearted protest into Artemiy's shoulder despite his obvious desire for their current closeness.

"This is a better use of my time, I think," Artemiy murmured back, carding his fingers through the bachelor's hair. "The plague and its cure will both be there in a few hours."

Dankovsky gave a wordless grumble but no further objections, twisting his fingers into Artemiy's shirt almost possessively. Smiling slightly, Artemiy soothed them both into sleep, humming an old lullabye he recalled from his youth.


End file.
